The Return
by Dawnstorm101
Summary: Sam's had a long, emotional hiatus, and he's tired of the others' attempts to drag him back. Until one voicemail throws him back into the action. SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON 9 PREMIERE.


A/N: Overall, yay, NCIS: LA is back! But that new assistant director lady - I don't like her. That's obviously the point right now, but she so got on my nerves. And I didn't feel Sam's return was _quite_ poignant enough, given the circumstances of his hiatus, so I threw together a little something to tweak the episode's ending that gave me an excuse to whump G and get that more emotional return. And yell at Mosely a bit. (I did also tweak the bad guy's numbers a teeny bit to lend more credibility to the scenario, in case you're reading this at 2:30am and wonder if you missed something, or if you're reading this at a reasonable time and wonder if I just misremembered.)

* * *

Waves crashed on the shore as the sun beat down, but Sam ignored the nice weather. He didn't have the heart to enjoy it anymore, not with an empty nest and no wife to share it with. He supposed this was how G had felt not too long ago – like there was a gaping hole where something important belonged, but that something was unattainable. How ironic that G had finally filled that hole, finally found his family, just before Sam's fell apart.

His phone burst to life, buzzing desperately for his attention. He glanced at the caller ID – Kensi. With a sigh, he threw another knife at the board and let it go to voicemail. Sam had no patience right now for another attempt to console him and bring him back to the team.

When the phone alerted him to a new voicemail, he glanced back at it. _What if they need you for a case?_ he wondered.

He twirled a second knife in his fingers. _They've survived just fine without me these past few months._

 _But what if they_ need _you? What if G needs you? This is exactly what he did, what you've been trying to stop him from doing for years._

 _His situation was a little different._

Still, the idea of a teammate potentially being in trouble was the incentive he needed. So he clicked play on the voicemail.

 _"Look,"_ Kensi said without preamble, her tone equal measures furious and desperate, _"I get it, Sam. You're in mourning and you want nothing to do with the team right now. But Granger's crappy replacement shipped Deeks back to the LAPD and she's ordered Nell to stay in Ops. And- God, I messed up. Callen and I, we got into a shootout, and when we thought they were taking a pause to reload, they were just letting a couple of their buddies sneak up on us. I got away, and I_ swear _I thought Callen was right behind me, but when I turned to look for him they were throwing him into their car._

 _"They took Callen, Sam. The guys who are about to blow up L.A. kidnapped Grisha."_

Sam was up and running before she finished talking.

-NCISLA-

When he and the Challenger squealed into the park Eric had texted him about, Kensi and Nell were pinned down behind Kensi's car and taking heavy fire. His arrival distracted the attackers long enough for the women to pop up and return fire, successfully eliminating the threats. As Sam jumped out of his car, they ran to secure the scene.

"What's the situation?" Sam demanded, clutching his gun impatiently.

Kensi gestured at the three bodies on the ground. "They have a fourth friend. The one Callen and I visited earlier must've recognized me when we pulled up, because as soon as we did, these three bailed out of the ambulance and started shooting at us. As the driver drove away, he yelled something about getting revenge for not being able to fulfill the plan. I can only assume-"

"G was in that ambulance," Sam finished. "One of you, give me your comm."

Nell obliged, and Sam stuck it in his ear. "Eric?"

 _"Go out the way you came,"_ he said by way of answer. _"And hi, welcome back."_

"I'm here for G," Sam said, getting back in the driver's seat and put the pedal to the metal.

-NCISLA-

As the ambulance crashed into the water, Sam slammed on the brakes. He bailed almost before the car stopped, screaming, "G! G!"

 _If he's in the ambulance…_ Assuming the driver hadn't been knocked unconscious by the crash - which he probably had been - he would be too busy saving his hide to worry about a federal agent in the back.

For a moment he froze, watching for a ripple of movement in the water. But there was nothing, only the ambulance sinking further.

 _I will not lose my partner._

Without hesitation, ignoring the potential for disaster, he leapt into the water. Its iciness surrounded him instantly, reaching through his clothes to drag him down. He let it, striving for the ambulance's back doors. He reached them, grabbed the handles, and _pulled,_ yanking the doors open.

G floated in the water, unconscious and strapped to the bomb.

He moved forward and fought with the knot in the rope, tugging until it freed G's wrists. Then he hooked an arm around his partner and swam for the surface. G didn't gasp for air as his head broke the surface, but Sam just kept swimming, reaching for the bank where Kensi and Nell now waited. With their help, he and G escaped the water just before the explosion sent water spraying into the air.

Sam paid it no mind, checking for G's pulse. "Damn it, man, you are _not_ allowed to die!" he snapped, beginning CPR. He heard an unknown woman demanding to know what was happening, heard Nell calling for an ambulance, heard Kensi urging G to live, but he tuned it all out. He listened for one sound and one sound only.

Following the resounding _crack_ of a rib breaking, he heard it.

G sucked in a gasp of air, coughing his way back to life. "Easy, G, easy," Sam said, relief flooding his tone as he slumped over. He helped G roll onto his side so he could cough up the water he'd inhaled.

"S-sam?" G rasped.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," he promised.

In the sun's warm light, they waited for an un-exploded ambulance.

-NCISLA-

"I went to the hospital. Honestly, I'm fi-"

Sam crossed his arms pointedly as a coughing fit cut off G's protest. They sat on the bullpen's couch, Kensi, Eric, Nell, and Deeks watching from the desks. With a ragged sigh, G gave in, turning his head so Sam could check his wound.

"Agents. Detective."

Sam dropped his hands, looking up at the speaker. She dipped her head curtly, introducing herself before adding, "Now, if you could all leave so I can speak to Mr. Callen alone-"

G snapped his head up, somehow not flinching at the pain the movement must've caused, and glared at Mosely. When he spoke, his voice was still raspy and quiet, but it throbbed with an edge of anger. "Whatever you have to say can be said in front of my team."

Mosely's eyebrow rose as she cast her gaze over Sam, Deeks, and the two geeks. "As I recall, you only have one team member here."

"No," G stated, rising to his feet. "This is my team."

"This isn't a democracy, Callen," Mosely countered, lifting her chin.

Sam stood, resting a hand on G's shoulder. "Maybe not," he agreed, allowing his anger to show more obviously than G. "But your little dictatorship almost killed my partner, my _brother_. Do you know what I do to bad guys who hurt my brother, Mosely?"

Mosely crossed her arms. "I am not a bad guy, Mr. Hanna."

"The hell you aren't," Sam growled. "Sure, you're not shooting at us or anything, but you seem to be trying pretty damn hard to endanger us. And it worked."

She at least had the grace to look a little ashamed as she glanced at G, now with a hand planted on the column to stay upright. "I admit that today did not go well-"

"'Didn't go well'?" Kensi repeated. "That's all you have to say? This team almost became a team of one. That is not a team!"

"If, for a moment, you could refrain from bringing that up-"

"No," Sam deadpanned. "Because that is our point."

"A year ago, I might've told you I was fine with dying," G admitted, holding Mosely's gaze. Sam watched him out of the corner of his eye, wondering if the head wound was worse than the doctors had said. "But now I have a family. I have a father and a sister and a nephew, and I can finally tell my girlfriend my full name. I have a wedding to go to eventually, I have a mother to find, and I have a brother to take care of like he once took care of me."

G clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder, gesturing at the others with the other. "I won't let your decisions endanger that again."

" _We_ won't," Sam corrected, wrapping his arm around G's shoulders.

G accepted Sam's words with a nod. "And if your decisions _ever_ threaten this team, this _family,_ there'll be hell to pay."

Mosely pursed her lips, looking for all the world like she wanted to fire them all, but she simply asked Sam, "I take it this means you're back on the team?"

"Yes," Sam said, letting the edge in his voice convey the true meaning of that.

She dipped her head. "All right. With the exception of Agent Callen, I expect to see all of you here on time tomorrow." The second she'd finished, she turned on her heel and stalked away.

They all waited tensely for her to disappear down the tunnel, only letting out a collective breath when they were certain she was gone. G leaned his weight against Sam, letting his head hang as he gingerly hugged his torso. "That went better than expected," Eric said.

"Oh, we are so in trouble down the line," Nell muttered direly.

Kensi just got up and hugged Sam. "It's great to have you back. And, Callen, I'm so-"

G waved her off, not moving his arm to do so. "I think we just established it's not your fault."

Sam tugged G towards the tunnel. His partner needed rest in a real bed, and Sam figured it would do himself some good to have someone to take care of for a night. "Let's get you home, buddy."

With a chorus of byes following them, the partners left the building, G letting Sam guide him along. Only when they were alone in Sam's car did G speak. "You back?"

"Maybe," Sam answered quietly. "I'm definitely back on the team. But entirely… I don't know. I just can't lose one of you."

G let his eyes drift shut, snuggling deeper into the seat. "Works for me."


End file.
